Distributing personalized content

ABSTRACT

The invention provides a method and system for distributing personalized content to potentially large numbers of recipients. A pool is selected, from among all content available for distribution, of those content elements that will be made available for simultaneous distribution, and personalized content is selected for distribution from that pool. The content of the pool can change with new selections over time. For each individual recipient, content elements in the pool are examined to determine if they are predicted to be of sufficient interest to that recipient for distribution, and if so, those content elements are distributed. If not, successive content elements in the pool are examined, relaxing the standard for sufficient interest, until at least one content element is found and distributed to the individual recipient.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation (and claims the benefit of priorityunder 35 USC 120) of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/105,840, filed Jun.26, 1998, which issues Jul. 1, 2008 as U.S. Pat. No. 7,394,816.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to distributing personalized content.

2. Related Art

Known distribution systems for content include broadcast systems, suchas broadcast radio and broadcast television, and personalized systems,such as direct purchases of records and videotapes. Recent developmentsin content distribution include digital storage of content and digitaldistribution of content, including both audio and video. For example, itis now possible to store popular songs on disk and distribute thosesongs to recipients using a communication network.

One problem in the known art is that distributing personalizedinformation greatly increases the bandwidth used for distribution. Atany one moment, each individual recipient can have different desires forcontent, so a large number of recipients can use substantial amounts ofdistribution bandwidth. Distribution bandwidth includes both thecommunication infrastructure to transmit that content to recipients, aswell as the infrastructure to retrieve that content from storage andpresent that content to the communication infrastructure. For example,while it can be relatively easy to store several thousand songs onmagnetic media, it is still relatively difficult to retrieve more than afew dozen of those songs from magnetic media simultaneously.

Accordingly, it would be desirable to distribute personalized content topotentially large numbers of recipients, without incurring the problemsof the known art. This advantage is achieved in an embodiment of theinvention in which a pool is selected, from among all content availablefor distribution, of those content elements that will be made availablefor simultaneous distribution, and personalized content is selected fordistribution from that pool.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides a method and system for distributing personalizedcontent to potentially large numbers of recipients. A pool is selected,from among all content available for distribution, of those contentelements that will be made available for simultaneous distribution, andpersonalized content is selected for distribution from that pool. Thecontent of the pool can change with new selections over time. For eachindividual recipient, content elements in the pool are examined todetermine if they are predicted to be of sufficient interest to thatrecipient for distribution, and if so, those content elements aredistributed. If not, successive content elements in the pool areexamined, relaxing the standard for sufficient interest, until at leastone content element is found and distributed to the individualrecipient.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a diagram of a system for distributing personalizedcontent.

FIG. 2 shows a flow diagram of a method for distributing personalizedcontent.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

In the following description, a preferred embodiment of the invention isdescribed with regard to preferred process steps and data structures.Those skilled in the art would recognize after perusal of thisapplication that embodiments of the invention can be implemented usinggeneral or special purpose processors under program control, or othercircuits, adapted to particular process steps and data structuresdescribed herein, and that implementation of the process steps and datastructures described herein would not require undue experimentation orfurther invention.

System Elements

FIG. 1 shows a diagram of a system for distributing personalizedcontent.

A system 100 for distributing personalized content includes a processor110, program and data memory 120, mass storage 130, and a communicationpath 140 to a community 150 of individual recipients.

The processor 110 and memory 120 include any one of a set of knownprocessors, operating under control of operating system and applicationprograms in the memory 120. The mass storage 130 includes magnetic,optical, or magneto-optical storage suitable for maintains large amountsof data and delivering segments of that data to the memory 120 uponinstruction by the processor 110.

The mass storage 130 maintains a relatively large number of contentelements. In a preferred embodiment, each content element comprises anaudio song in a digital format, such as an AU format, a WAV format,(preferably) a “Real Audio” or “Real Player” format, or another knownformat. Storage and delivery of all of these digital formats are knownin the art. For example, in a preferred embodiment, the mass storage 130maintains about 80,000 songs.

The invention is described herein with primary regard to delivery ofaudio songs in a digital format. However, the invention has wideapplicability to delivery of other content elements, including othertypes of data and other types of format. For example, the invention isapplicable to delivery of music videos, other audiovisual or videoelements, graphic elements, mapping information, seismic information,telemetry information, or other known data in addition to or incombination therewith.

Network Distribution

The communication path 140 includes a communication link 141 (such as aT1 connection or a similar link) to a communication network 142 (such asthe internet or a similar network). The communication link 141 isdisposed for transmitting data from the memory 120 at a rate sufficientto deliver each content element to the community 150 of individualrecipients, so that each individual recipient 151 in the community 150receives content elements substantially in real time.

The communication network 142 is disposed for transmitting data from thecommunication link 141 to each individual recipient 151 in the community150 at a rate sufficient to deliver each content element to eachindividual recipient 151 in the community 150 substantially in realtime.

In alternative embodiments, the communication network 142 may bedisposed for transmitting data to sets of individual recipients 151 inthe community 150 using a multicast distribution technique, such as IPmulticast.

Each content element maintained on the mass storage 130 is assigned toone or more channels for distribution.

In a preferred embodiment, each channel includes a recognizable genre orsubdivision of known music, such as for example “Big Bands,”“Classical,” “Country & Western,” “Heavy Metal,” “Love Songs,” “1950s,”and the like. For example, in a preferred embodiment, each songmaintained on the mass storage 130 is assigned to one or more of about100 or so channels. Channels can, but need not, be assigned numeric oralphanumeric identifiers.

Each channel comprises content elements that are thought to appeal tosubstantially the same set of individual recipients 151 in the community150.

For example, content elements are assigned to the channel “Country &Western” because it is believed that they will all have appeal to agroup of individual recipients 151 in the community 150 who like“Country & Western” songs.

However, within each particular channel, those individual recipients 151who receive content elements from that particular channel often havediffering likes and dislikes. For each particular channel, the contentelements on that channel do not necessarily have the same appeal to eachindividual recipient 151 receiving content elements from that channel.

Distribution Pool

For each particular channel, the system 100 maintains a pool 160 in thememory 120 of selected content elements assigned to that channel.

Those content elements selected for the pool 160 are maintained in thememory 120 to be distributed to individual recipients 151. The pool 160is more than one such content element, but smaller than the entirecollection of content elements on the mass storage 130.

The processor 110 and memory 120 are disposed to be able to deliversubstantially all the content elements in the pool 160 simultaneouslyand substantially in real time.

In alternative embodiments, the pool 160 can be maintained on the massstorage 130 in addition to or instead of in the memory 120. The pool 160is limited only by the ability of the system 100 to retrieve and deliversubstantially all of the content elements in the pool 160simultaneously.

In a preferred embodiment, the pool 160 comprises about 30 contentelements for each channel. The inventor has found that this is asufficient large number that, at any particular time, virtually everyindividual recipient 151 will have at least one content element theywill enjoy. The inventor has also found that this is a sufficientlysmall number that the processor 110 and memory 120 are not substantiallytaxed by attempting to deliver all content elements in the pool 160simultaneously.

In alternative embodiments, the number of content elements in the pool160 could be different. The number of content elements in the pool 160may be selected in response to various factors, in addition to orinstead of the factors noted above.

The number may be adaptive to the predicted composition of the community150, which itself may be responsive to the time of day or day of theweek.

The number may be adaptive to requests from individual recipients 151 orto ratings from individual recipients 151.

The number may be adaptive to the size or type of content elements inthe pool 160. For example, one video element might require substantiallymore resources to deliver than one audio element, and thus might beconsidered to occupy a larger proportion of the pool 160.

The number may be adaptive to priorities assigned to content elements inthe pool 160, or to other administrative requirements.

The content elements in the pool 160 are replaced from time to time;thus, the pool 160 does not comprise the same content elements at alltimes.

In a preferred embodiment, each content element in the pool 160 has aknown play length, which is the amount of time it takes to play thatsong in real time. Each song is retained in the pool 160 for its playlength (plus any amount of time required to actually distribute the songif it has been selected for distribution to individual recipients 151).After a particular content element is ready for replacement, theprocessor 110 selects a new content element from the entire set ofcontent elements (for that particular channel) to enter into the pool160.

In alternative embodiments, the content elements in the pool 160 may bereplaced in response to other factors, in addition to or instead of playlength:

The entire pool 160 may be selected for replacement en masse, eitherperiodically, in response to some random factor, or in response to someother factor such as feedback from the community 150.

Individual content elements in the pool 160 may be selected forreplacement earlier or later than their play length, in response to somerandom factor, in response to feedback from the community 150, or inresponse to failure to be selected for distribution.

Personalized Distribution

For each individual recipient 151 requesting personalized distribution,there are times when a content element is selected for personalizeddistribution to that individual recipient 151. At those times, thecontent element is selected from the pool 160. After examining at leastone such content element, the processor 110 selects one content elementfor distribution to that individual recipient 151. After that onecontent element is distributed to that individual recipient 151 (and ifthe individual recipient 151 still desires personalized distribution)the processor 110 continues to examine content elements in the pool 160and select them for distribution to that individual recipient 151.

In a preferred embodiment, the processor 110 selects content elementsfor personalized distribution at times responsive to each individualrecipient 151, such as when an individual recipient 151 specificallyrequests distribution of a content element, or when a previous contentelement ends, or triggered by a timer or other event.

In alternative embodiments, the processor 110 may select contentelements for personalized distribution at times responsive to sets ofindividual recipients 151, such as when content elements are scheduledfor multicast to a plurality of individual recipients 151. In suchalternative embodiments, the processor 110 may give preference to thosecontent elements scheduled for multicast. The preference may beexpressed, for example, by adjusting the score of content elementsresponsive to that schedule or by restricting the selection forpersonalized distribution to those content elements.

The processor 110 selects a first content element from the pool 160, anddetermines a predicted interest by the individual recipient 151 in thatfirst content element.

In a preferred embodiment, the first content element is selected fromthe pool in a weighted round robin manner. In alternative embodiments,the first content element may be selected in response to anothertechnique, such as at random.

In a preferred embodiment, the processor 110 determines the predictedinterest in response to a set of known correlation factors between theparticular individual recipient 151 and other known groups of individualrecipients 151 in the community 150. The processor 110 preferably uses aknown CF (collaborative filtering) technique. CF techniques are known inthe art of predicting audience response.

In alternative embodiments, where determining a predicted interest isrelatively less resource-intensive, the processor 110 may make thedetermination using other techniques. For example, the processor 110 maymake the determination for a larger number of content elements in thepool 160 (even for all of them). The processor 110 may make thedetermination for content elements not already in the pool 160 (forpossible addition to the pool 160).

The processor 110 compares the predicted interest with a minimuminterest threshold, to determine whether the first content element willprobably be liked or disliked by the particular individual recipient151.

In a preferred embodiment, both the predicted interest and the interestthreshold are compared using dimensionless units. In this applicationthese units are referred to as being on a scale of zero (worst) to ten(best). However, there is no special reason for the scale to have thisparticular granularity or these particular endpoint values.

In a preferred embodiment, the minimum interest threshold is initiallyset relatively high, to maximize the probability that the individualrecipient 151 will like the song. For example, the initial minimuminterest threshold is preferably set to about nine (on a scale of zeroto ten).

The processor 110 also compares the first content element with a set ofbusiness rules, to determine whether distribution of the first contentelement will be disallowed for administrative reasons. Business ruleshave three possible types:

Legal restrictions imposed on distributing content elements, such as bylicensing requirements. For example, the license for distributing songscan sometimes require that a particular song not be played more thantwice in one hour, or that a particular artist's songs not be playedmore than three times in one hour.

Marketing restrictions imposed on distributing content elements, such asby perceived desires or needs of the community 150. For example,marketing considerations can dictate that a particular song not beplayed twice in a row, or that particular artist's songs not be playedmore than three times in a row, or that a “downbeat” song not befollowed immediately by an “upbeat” song.

Other administrative, financial, or technical restrictions. For example,administrative considerations can dictate that song play cannot run overscheduled commercial breaks or station identification.

If the processor 110 determines that the content element meets theminimum interest threshold and the business rules, it distributes thecontent element tot the individual recipient 151.

If the processor 110 determines that the content element should not bedistributed for either reason, it selects a second content element fromthe pool 160 and repeats the examination with regard to that secondcontent element.

For each successive content element it examines, the processor 110adjusts the minimum interest threshold downward. The processor 110compares each of the content elements it has examined against theadjusted minimum interest threshold, and selects the best one.

Thus, if the first content element does not meet the relatively highinitial threshold, both the first and second content elements arecompared against a somewhat relaxed threshold. If both the first andsecond content elements do not meet the relaxed threshold, a thirdcontent element is selected and all of the first, second, and thirdcontent elements are compared against a further relaxed threshold. Thisprocess is repeated until one of the following:

at least one content element meets a sufficiently relaxed threshold (andsatisfies the business rules); or

the processor 110 has examined a selected maximum number of contentelements (possibly the entire pool 160).

In either case, the processor 110 distributes one content element it hasexamined that has the best predicted interest (and satisfies thebusiness rules).

In a preferred embodiment, the minimum interest threshold is adjusteddownward by multiplying the previous minimum interest threshold by afactor smaller than one. For example, this factor is preferably about0.9.

In a preferred embodiment, the maximum number of content elementsexamined by the processor 110 is about half the size of the pool 160.For example, this number is preferably about 15.

In alternative embodiments, any of the values used for this process maybe adaptively selected in response to a variety of factors:

The initial value for the minimum interest threshold can be adaptivelyselected in response to one or more of (1) the average predictedinterest of all content elements in the pool 160 for the entirecommunity 150, (2) the average expressed interest by the individualrecipient 151 for content elements distributed to that individualrecipient 151 in the past, (3) a measure of relative load on theprocessor 110, or other known factors.

The factor for reducing the minimum interest threshold, or the techniquefor adjusting the minimum interest threshold, can be adaptively selectedin response to one or more of the factors noted above.

The maximum number of content elements examined by the processor, can beadaptively selected in response to one or more of the factors notedabove.

In a preferred embodiment, the processor 110 selects content elementsfor personalized distribution separately for each channel.

In alternative embodiments, the individual recipient 151 can select aplurality of channels from which the processor 110 selects contentelements for personalized distribution. In such alternative embodiments,the processor 110 can select content elements from a union of pools 160for each channel, or using some other technique.

Method of Operation

FIG. 2 shows a flow diagram of a method for distributing personalizedcontent.

A method 200 is performed by the system 100, including the processor110, memory 120, mass storage 130, and communication path 140.

Pool Selection

At a flow point 210, the system 100 has a set of content elements fordistribution to the community 150.

At a step 211, the processor 110 selects a set of content elements forentry into the pool 160. As noted herein, the number of elements in thepool 160 is preferably about 30, but may be different and may beadaptive in response to factors noted herein,

At a step 212, the processor 110 periodically replaces one or morecontent elements in the pool 160. As noted herein, the processor 110preferably replaces each content element in the pool 160 after theduration of its play length. At that time, the processor 110 retainsejected content elements in the memory 120 if they are then currentlybeing distributed, but marks them as ineligible for selection forpersonalized distribution.

In alternative embodiments, at the step 212, the processor 110 mayperiodically replace all of the content elements in the pool 160. Forexample, the processor 110 may perform this step periodically aboutevery 30 seconds.

If the system 100 is reset for any reason, such as by a system failureor a reset forced by an operator, the method 200 returns to the flowpoint 210 and the processor 110 selects a new pool 160.

Content Element Selection

At a flow point 220, the system 100 has selected the pool 160 of contentelements for personalized distribution to individual recipients 151 inthe community 150.

At a step 221, an individual recipient 151 makes a request forpersonalized content from a particular channel (or as noted above, froma particular set of channels). The processor 110 receives the requestand the method 200 proceeds with the next step.

At a step 222, the processor 110 searches the pool 160 for a nextcontent element to be distributed. As noted herein, the particularmethod for search is preferably a weighted round robin technique, butthere is no particular reason in the context of this invention for usingany particular search technique.

At a step 223, the processor 110 determines a predicted rating for theselected content element. As noted herein, the processor 110 preferablyuses a known CF technique.

At a step 224, the processor 110 determines if the selected contentelement meets the business rules for selection.

At a step 225, the processor 110 combines the predicted rating withother selected factors to determine a score for that particular contentelement.

In a preferred embodiment, violating any of the business rules barsdistribution of the content element, so the processor 110 assigns thecontent element the lowest possible score (zero).

In alternative embodiments, violating licensing restrictions has thesame effect, but violating marketing or administrative restrictions mayhave a less drastic effect. For example, the processor 110 cansignificantly reduce the score of the content element, but not reduce itto zero, for violating selected “soft” marketing business rules.

At a step 226, the processor 110 determines if the score meets orexceeds a selected minimum threshold for the individual recipient 151.As noted above, the initial value for the minimum threshold is aboutnine (on a scale of zero to ten), but may be different or may beadaptive responsive to a variety of factors.

If the score for the selected content element meets or exceeds theselected minimum threshold, the method 200 proceeds with the flow point230, and the content element is distributed to the individual recipient151.

If the score for the selected content element does not meet the selectedminimum threshold, the method 200 proceeds with the next step.

At a step 227, the processor 110 adjusts the selected minimum thresholdto determine an adjusted minimum threshold. As noted above, theprocessor 110 preferably multiplies the selected minimum threshold by afactor less than one, such as 0.9, but in alternative embodiments thefactor may be different or may be adaptive in response to variousfactors.

At a step 228, the processor 110 determines if the score for any contentelement selected so far meets or exceeds the adjusted minimum threshold.

If one or more content elements selected so far meet or exceed theadjusted minimum threshold, the processor 110 selects the contentelement with the highest score. The method 200 proceeds with the flowpoint 230, and that content element is distributed to the individualrecipient 151.

If none of the content elements selected so far meet or exceed theadjusted threshold, the method 200 returns to the step 222, and a nextcontent element is selected.

As noted herein, the method 200 returns to the step 222 only a selectedmaximum number of times. In a preferred embodiment, this selectedmaximum number is about 15. In alternative embodiments, this selectedmaximum number may be different or may be adaptive in response tovarious factors.

If the selected maximum number of returns to the step 222 would beexceeded, the processor 110 selects the content element with the highestscore, similarly to the case when that score did meet or exceed theadjusted minimum threshold. Similarly, the method 200 proceeds with theflow point 230, and that content element is distributed to theindividual recipient 151.

Content Element Distribution

At a flow point 230, the system 100 has selected a particular contentelement for distribution to the individual recipient 151.

At a step 231, the processor 110 reads the selected content element intothe memory 120 from the mass storage 130 (if the selected contentelement is not already in the memory 120).

At a step 232, the processor 110 distributes the selected contentelement from the memory 120, using the communication path 140, to theindividual recipient 151.

At a flow point 240, the system 100 has distributed the selected contentelement to the individual recipient 151, and is ready to distributefurther personalized content elements. The method 200 proceeds with theflow point 230.

ALTERNATIVE EMBODIMENTS

Although preferred embodiments are disclosed herein, many variations arepossible which remain within the concept, scope, and spirit of theinvention, and these variations would become clear to those skilled inthe art after perusal of this application.

1. A method of generating a theme-based channel of music for an InternetRadio station, the method comprising: determining a score for onecontent element within a set of content elements that share a theme ofthe theme-based channel of music, the score being responsive to apredicted recipient interest in the one content element; comparing thescore for the one content element with a threshold; identifying, basedon the comparison with the threshold, the one content element; selectingthe identified content element; scheduling the selected content elementto be available to users requesting the theme-based channel of music;receiving a request from a requestor for access to the theme-basedchannel of music; and enabling perception, based in part on the receivedrequest from the requestor for access to the theme-based channel ofmusic, of the scheduled content element by the requester.
 2. The methodof claim 1 wherein scheduling the selected content comprises scheduling,based on selection of the identified content element, the identifiedcontent element.
 3. The method of claim 1 further comprising:determining a number of times that the one content element was perceivedby the requestor over a predetermined time period; comparing the numberof times with a count threshold; determining, based on the comparison ofthe number of times with the count threshold, if the number of times isequal to or greater than the count threshold; and adjusting, based onthe determination that the number of times is equal to or greater thanthe count threshold, the score for the one content element to decreasethe likelihood that the one content element is identified.
 4. The methodof claim 1 further comprising: determining whether the one contentelement is the same as the scheduled content element most recentlyperceived by the requester; and adjusting, based on the determinationthat the one content element is the same as the scheduled contentelement most recently perceived by the requester, the score for the onecontent element to decrease the likelihood that the one content elementis identified.
 5. The method of claim 1 further comprising: determininga characteristic of the one content element; determining a number oftimes content elements sharing the characteristic of the one contentelement were perceived by the requester over a predetermined timeperiod; comparing the number of times with a count threshold;determining, based on the comparison of the number of times with thecount threshold, if the number of times is equal to or greater than thecount threshold; and adjusting, based on determination that the numberof times is equal to or greater than the count threshold, the score forthe one content element to decrease the likelihood that the one contentelement is identified.
 6. The method of claim 5 wherein determining thecharacteristic of the one content element comprises determining anartist of the one content element.
 7. The method of claim 5 whereindetermining the characteristic of the one content element comprisesdetermining a melody of the one content element.
 8. The method of claim1 further comprising: determining a characteristic of the one contentelement; determining whether the scheduled content element most recentlyperceived by the requestor shares the characteristic of the one contentelement; and adjusting, based on the determination that the scheduledcontent element most recently perceived by the requester shares thecharacteristic of the one content element, the score for one contentelement to decrease the likelihood that the one content element isidentified.
 9. The method of claim 8 wherein determining thecharacteristic of the one content element comprises determining anartist of the one content element.
 10. The method of claim 8 whereindetermining the characteristic of the one content element comprisesdetermining a melody of the one content element.
 11. The method of claim1 further comprising: determining a characteristic of the one contentelement; determining whether the scheduled content element most recentlyperceived by the requestor shares the characteristic of the one contentelement; and reducing, based on the determination that the scheduledcontent element most recently perceived by the requestor shares thecharacteristic of the one content element, the score for the one contentelement.
 12. The method of claim 11 wherein determining thecharacteristic of the one content element comprises determining anartist of the one content element.
 13. The method of claim 11 whereindetermining the characteristic of the one content element comprisesdetermining a melody of the one content element.
 14. The method of claim1 further comprising removing, in response to enabling perception of thescheduled content element, the scheduled content element from the set ofcontent elements that share the theme of the theme-based channel ofmusic.
 15. The method of claim 1 further comprising: determining a scorefor a second content element within the set of content elements thatshare the theme of the theme-based channel of music, the score beingresponsive to a predicted recipient interest in the second contentelement; adjusting the threshold; comparing the score for the secondcontent element with the adjusted threshold; identifying, based on thecomparison with the adjusted threshold, the second content element;selecting the identified second content element; scheduling the selectedsecond content element to be available to users requesting thetheme-based channel of music; enabling perception, based in part on theavailability of the selected second content element, of the scheduledsecond content element by the requestor.
 16. The method of claim 15wherein adjusting the threshold comprises adjusting the threshold basedon a determination that the one content element was not identified. 17.The method of claim 15 wherein adjusting the threshold comprisesadjusting the threshold to increase the likelihood that the secondcontent element is identified.
 18. The method of claim 15 whereinadjusting the threshold comprises adjusting the threshold downward. 19.The method of claim 18, wherein adjusting the threshold downwardcomprises lowering the threshold by 10%.
 20. The method of claim 15wherein the adjusted threshold is different than the threshold comparedto the score for the one content element.
 21. The method of claim 1wherein the threshold is determined based on the average predictedrecipient interest of all of the content elements in the set of contentelements that share the theme of the theme-based channel of music. 22.The method of claim 1 wherein the threshold is determined based on theaverage predicted recipient interest of all of the content elementspreviously perceived by the requester.
 23. The method of claim 1 furthercomprising: replacing at least one content element in the set of contentelements that share the theme of the theme-based channel of music at apredetermined time interval.
 24. The method of claim 1 whereinidentifying, based on the comparison with the threshold, the one contentelement comprises identifying, based on a determination that the scorefor the one content element is equal to or greater than the threshold,the one content element.
 25. The method of claim 1 wherein the predictedrecipient interest in the one content element is determined using acollaboration filtering technique.
 26. A system for generating atheme-based channel of music for an Internet Radio station, the systemcomprising: means for determining a score for one content element withina set of content elements that share a theme of the theme-based channelof music, the score being responsive to a predicted recipient interestin the one content element; means for comparing the score for the onecontent element with a threshold; means for identifying, based on thecomparison with the threshold, the one content element; means forselecting the identified content element; means for scheduling theselected content element to be available to users requesting thetheme-based channel of music; means for receiving a request from arequestor for access to the theme-based channel of music; and means forenabling perception, based in part on the received request from therequestor for access to the theme-based channel of music, of thescheduled content element by the requester.
 27. A tangiblecomputer-readable medium having embodied thereon a computer programconfigured to generate a theme-based channel of music for an InternetRadio station, the computer program comprising one or more code segmentsthat, when executed, cause a computer to: determine a score for onecontent element within a set of content elements that share a theme ofthe theme-based channel of music, the score being responsive to apredicted recipient interest in the one content element; compare thescore for the one content element with a threshold; identify, based onthe comparison with the threshold, the one content element; select theidentified content element; schedule the selected content element to beavailable to users requesting the theme-based channel of music; receivea request from a requestor for access to the theme-based channel ofmusic; and enable perception, based in part on the received request fromthe requestor for access to the theme-based channel of music, of thescheduled content element by the requestor.